Yoga en Español

I had an amazing experience at the Latino Community Center this week.  I volunteered to volunteer there - and immediately liked the place, the space, and the energy of CORE - El Centro.  The focus is wellness and they offer Reiki, Massage, Acupuncture, Yoga, Dance, and Counseling to anyone in need of wellness (aren't we all?), but since it is positioned in the deeply Hispanic part of town, it has a strongly Latino following.  The coordinator immediately put me down to translate (interpret) a gentle yoga class on Thursday evenings.  The teacher speaks English and I parrot her en español - which is challenging because its her words, not mine.  I was immediately a little nervous, wondering if the year since my last trip to Spain had rendered me no longer bilingual.  I couldn't really prepare (although I did re-read some old yoga journal articles in Spanish to review some vocab  - being the nerdy perfectionist that I am.....) I showed up a few minutes early and was immediately at ease as the yoga teacher, Stephanie, and I shared a few sincere moments about the ins and outs of this kind of class.  We were on the same page - and both there as volunteers to help these students remember relaxation and wholeness.  The women, mostly Hispanic but also a Native American woman and a couple of Gringas  - were delightful.  I introduced myself - the tall blonde with the Wisconsin accent - as knowing some Spanish and reiterated that I was there to help them understand the practice that Stephanie was teaching.  I goofed up jalar (to pull)  and empujar (to push) which we corrected with some pantomimes and giggles.  I put blankets under their necks and sacrums, and always included a gentle smile of encouragement as they bent and folded into the yoga postures.  At the end, they were all in restorative cobbler - each woman deeply peaceful and still for a few rare moments in her day.  As they rested, Stephanie came over and gave me a hug.  She said it was the first time since she started teaching - without an interpreter - that she really felt connected to these women.  They were very grateful and so were we.  It was an amazing experience - and honestly - my Spanish flowed.  It just bubbled out in metaphor and imagery.  Sometimes I used the uds. command forms I had taught so long ago and sometimes I used the nosotros - and WE were practicing together.  Ingles, omóplatos, barriga, columna, I even remembered the names for all the fingers:  pulgar, índice, mediano, anular and meñique.  They smiled at that!  Every jueves now from 5:30 - 6:30.  and I think that eventually I'll find other ways I can help there - with the support groups or explaining acupuncture to clients or doing intakes.  It feels, in a weird way, like practicing for the next step - a way of combining my two passions - Yoga and Spanish - in a way that makes a difference.  One yoga posture at a time.  Namasté y Gracias. :-)